Tiare Apetahi
by Shinomori's Woman
Summary: Young mermaid, Misao is forcibly taken from under the protective care of one doctor Shinomori by a dangerous yakuza lord Takeda Kanryu. What length will Aoshi go to save her from his grasp?
1. Chapter 1

**Tiare Apetahi**

**Disclaimers: No. I don't own rk or anything related to it.**

It was a lazy sunday in the middle of summer. And this year, summer was hell bent on pouring its heart out on the poor earth, as such, neither the luxurious AC's nor the wonderful early morning natural breeze could keep Aoshi within the comfort of his silk clad king-sized bed. Rolling out of the bed, he peered out the window, it was barely morning. The sun was yet to shine and the weather was still , for lack of better words, tolerable. A quick look at his watch confirmed the time. 5:15. A perfect time for a morning walk on the beach. Dressing quickly, he walked out his small but elite duplex quarters just outside the busy city, half an hour walk from the beach. A bottle of water and his i-phone was all he carried with him, his ear-phones already in place, soft instrumental music flowing out, filling him with some much needed peace of mind. It took him about 20 minutes to lightly jog to the beach and like each time, he paused, taking in the wonderful scenery.

The sun was yet to get angry, a warm affectionate glow radiated from its early morning good will softly reflected by the calm surface of water. Gentle waves soundlessly hit the sand and flowed back in harmony. The vast kingdom of sand was barren, not many people woke this early on sunday morning. Which, of course, was a relief to him. Letting out a deep breath, he started to jog, enjoying his much waited leisure.

Shinomori Aoshi was a renowned physician in the city, working in one of the best hospitals in the country. He also offered a number of charitable services, money never a matter to him coming of a very rich business family. Apart from being the most sought after doctor in town, his faux celebrity image due to dating a super model and his insanely handsome looks, he was also a talented researcher. All that work left him with no time for himself, although it never bothered him much. But sometimes he needed break too. Like now. He was doing some lab work for a non-government company, which paid well and gave him ample free time from hospital though he did attend the emergencies. The hospital understood his limits and for that he was glad.

A small movement caught his sharply trained eyes. He stopped and looked around cautiously, all these years of martial art training finally paying off. It moved again and he focused in the direction of the slight disturbance. He studied the moving shape from behind, he couldn't see much though, just something dark like curtains shielding his view of the creature, his instinct identified it as the shape of a woman…..a girl, a young girl with very, very long hair. He stopped dead. A girl of her age , alone in the beach, at this ungodly hour of the day- it was suspicious. Was it a trap? Some new trick of low class muggers? What if she was just a victim? Someone who needed help and his medical expertise. Shaking his head of all thoughts, he stealthily stepped forward, his senses on alert for any sudden action.

Perhaps he was not silent enough, or may be she just turned instinctively revealing her entire form to his sight and he froze. She had such beautiful eyes, large, innocent and the perfect shade between sea-green and ocean blue. Aoshi was struck by her eyes, so open, so expressive, so inviting. He found her staring back at him with same intensity, if not more curiosity. Thrown off guard by her keen interest in him, he shifted his gaze and whirled around almost immediately. Except for her unbelievably long mid-night blue traces, she was completely bare. Not a single scrap of cloth covered her beautiful, young body covered with dried sand, proving the fact she had been here for longer than he had thought.

A soft touch on his shoulder, and he awkwardly glanced back to find her standing, not a single bit ashamed of her unclothed state.

"Are you hurt?" Did anyone hurt her? Unreasonable anger bubbled in his chest. She looked far too innocent to be tainted by some drunk bastard.

The provocative body walked around him to be back within his view. Curious eyes stared intently at his face, palm still placed on his shoulder but he received no answer. She did not appear hurt. Taking in her form to check for injuries proved to be a bad idea as he had a hard time controlling his desire. Want surged through his vein and he quickly averted his gaze. Shading his outer jacket, he wrapped it around her petite form and zipped it up, trapping her inquiring hands within the large cloth in the process. There. It wasn't much, but it at least covered some.

She stumbled back at his action and looked at his handiwork before returning her searching gaze to him.

"What's your name? What are you doing here?" Aoshi himself was a man of few words, but she really tried his patience. Was she mute?

"Can you speak?" He tried again. Was she mentally handicapped? That was a possible answer. He looked at her. There was simply no reaction from her other than curiosity. "Where do you come from?" At this, she looked towards the ocean and released a longing sigh. At last. Some reaction.

"Did you have an accident? A ship-wreck? Where is your family? Did you lose them in the accident?" She only returned to looking at him intently and struggled within the confine of his jacket. Aoshi watched curiously as she tried to free herself . Failing, she pouted softly, and returned her gaze to him, a silent request to untie her. Was she trying to communicate?

"I'm sorry. But you were indecent. I had to. Where are your clothes?" Now, Aoshi was getting impatient. Was she deaf too? Not possible. She did respond to one of his questions. God! What was he going to do with her? She was not hurt, yet she could not be left here. Everyone was not a gentleman as him. He ran his fingers through his hair impatiently and found her eyes following his every move. It made him uncomfortable. He shifted his weight to his other foot and sighed uneasily. People, one or two were visible. The sun was coming up. And he had to decide fast. What was he supposed to do with this weird, innocent, naked girl , hair matted with sand and water currently wearing his clothes, looking all the more inviting and eyeing him like the most amazing creature on earth?

In answer to his dilemma , the clouds shifted and revealed a burning sun instantly scorching them both with its blazing heat .With an animalistic cry, she jumped forward with eyes closed, trying to burrow deeper within his much larger body trying to seek refuge from the sun. He wrapped his arms around her in reflex, shielding her as much as he could from the harsh heat of the bright sun and took his decision. Picking her up swiftly, he sped towards the safety of his home before being spotted by any of the tourists and further damage caused to her by the sun.

**tbc…. **

**A/N: _Tiare Apetahi_ is a very rare flower with a legend. But I'm not going to follow the legend, yet. You can google it.**

**Story inspired from "On stranger Tides", all the mermaid movies I've ever seen and lastly, stigmafan123's "Shimmer and Disappear"(sesh rin). Mermaid characteristics are mixed and gathered from whatever I have heard, known or read, mostly from a Shri Devi film.**

**I always wanted an AM mermaid fic, since there's none I decided to write my own. Though there's one with Misao as nymph, it's a battou-kaoru fic. Very minute Am presence.**

**Pls enjoy. And review. **


	2. Chapter 2

"WHAT!"

Aoshi winced as he held his expensive cell phone at a distance from his sensitive ear.

"It's not what you think , Kaoru." He tried to explain to his seven month pregnant , mother of one adorable boy, cousin.

"YES! It is what I think it is. Why else would you want me to grab a set of my clothes and be at your house ASAP?"

"Kaoru…"

"I might be pregnant, Aoshi-nii but I'm not dumb! Naked girl in your living room. And you tell me to think otherwise? Really, nii-san?" Kaoru beamed at her own wit. Then she pondered. "Well, I always thought you to be the gentle type..who thought you'd go all wild and…"

Click. Aoshi had already hung up. He knew she would be here within half an hour or so. If not for him but for her curiosity. His cousin was a loud, boisterous woman but she was good at heart. And she and her half-brother, Yahiko were much like his own siblings and though he wasn't much expressive, he loved them just as much as they did. Even though he really didn't support his sister getting married to his high school rival, Himura Kenshin, he knew he loved her a lot and they'd be happy. Aoshi could see in it in his eyes, the love he held for Kaoru. Thinking of eyes, that girl sitting half naked on his couch, had such beautiful eyes. She was truly a mystery.

He quickly ascended down his stairs knowing that Kaoru will be there soon and was surprised to find the room empty and the couch vacant. Where did she go? He looked around in search of her and a faint splash caught his ears. He followed the sound to his pool outside in the backyard and for a second he thought he was dreaming. He blinked and waited for the trick of light to finish and opened his eyes once again. It couldn't be true.

There swam the petite girl in his pool, her wet hair shining in the sunlight. His jacket floating in one corner, coming off when she'd dove into the water. But what got his tongue and sanity, was the silver shiny tail, specked with blue somewhere the color complimenting her eyes . It swished gracefully behind her as she splashed gleefully in his small pool. What was she? Surely, mermaids did not exist. But then, what was before his eyes, he couldn't deny it either. Was she some sort of science gone wrong? That could explain her desertion in the beach. But this type of experiments were illegal and banned. Then what? Aoshi's chain of thought broke as he heard a car honk impatiently at his gate. Kaoru!

Aoshi instantly dove into water like a professional scuba diver and caught the young maiden by her waist. She was so engaged in her water sport that neither had she seen him coming nor diving into the water. She squeaked in surprise and tried to bat his hands away but his grip was stronger. He swam quickly to the side and pulled her out of water carefully so as not to hurt her tail. It looked strong but fragile at the same time. Though the caudal fins looked sharp, she hadn't used them to fight him. That meant she was not willing to hurt him. Neither was he.

Kaoru was having a slightly difficult pregnancy and he didn't want her to be shocked. And her rash personality wasn't helping him either. So he had to hide his discovery from her, if only for a little while. He knew the mermaid could survive without water, couldn't she? Judging by her state at the beach, she must have been on the sand for more than a few hours. And she looked fine. And since she was playing in the pool underneath the bright sun, she wasn't photosensitive either. It must have been the heat.

As soon as she was out of the water, her tail thrashed wildly. Aoshi swept her into his arms and led her upstairs into his bedroom carefully, ignoring the repeated ringing of his doorbell.

"I apologize for my behaviour." Aoshi explained as he dumped her on his bed gently. "I hope you'll be fine."

He paused at the door, and looked back. Wide blue eyes stared softly back at him, her tail fluttering softly on his large bed, hand splayed on the sides to keep balance. For a moment he wanted to be back to the pool with her playing merrily in the cool water. Shaking his thoughts away, he closed the door behind him and hurried downstairs to open the door.

"WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN ?" A very irritated Kaoru stormed in whereas Aoshi took those small bags from her hands. "KEEPING A PREGNANT WOMAN WAITING OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR FOR HOURS!"

He wanted to point out that it hadn't been hours but chose his words wisely. "I apologize, Kaoru-chan. And thank you for being so helpful all the time." His soft voice always did the magic, and he shamelessly used it on Kaoru every time he had no way out.

"Uhh..Its ok..I guess, nii-san." She mumbled from her sprawled position on the couch. "So, where's this hot chick of yours?"

The gleam in her eyes scared Aoshi and he swallowed visibly. "Umm..she's..well.." And it was a bad sign because he never stuttered.

"Oh! I know! She must be upstairs in your bedroom! I'll just go meet her myself!" Before he could stop her, she had snatched the bags from his lax hands and bolted up the stairs.

"Kaoru! Be careful up the stairs!" He shouted from below and then cursed as he remembered what was waiting for her upstairs.

"Shit!" He followed hot on her heels doing multiple stairs at a time but just as he landed on the top, he watched her fling his door open.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Aoshi jumped forward and slammed the door shut with one hand and used the other hand to calm his screaming sister.

"Kaoru,listen. I can explain…."

"DON'T!" Snapped a red-faced Kaoru. "I know you don't like sharing your clothes! But for Kami's sake, you could've at least lent her one of your shirts! I mean you have thousands of them! And you could easily throw away a hundred right now if you wished!" Kaoru was definitely exaggerating his wardrobe content but that was not his prime concern at that time.

"What do you mean?"

"This!" And she pushed the door open . Aoshi opened his mouth to explain but what he saw robbed his words. The girl was perched on his bed, as naked as the day she was born except for her long hair, which was now plastered to her buttery skin. Her legs splayed partially but no signs of a tail. Was he dreaming? Could be. He checked his bed. It was wet. So was his T-shirt.

"So?" Kaoru tapped her foot impatiently.

"Huh! What?"

"All men are same. All they want is something naked." She mumbled something else under her breath which he couldn't hear. " Go dress your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." Aoshi defended himself.

"So what's she doing in your house, in your bed, wet and naked?"

".."

"What? Answer!" She huffed. And the girl stared at them with those curious eyes of hers. Kaoru glanced at her direction and immediately shoved the bags in his hands. " For heaven's sake! Nii-san! Go cover her!" She turned on her heels and said something about shameless women these days and disappeared down the stairs. Aoshi looked at his descending sister, then to the bags in his hand and finally on the beauty on his bed. Blue eyes stared at him, somewhat amused.

Aoshi stepped inside the room, trying to avert his gaze somewhere other than her, unsuccessfully. What was happening? Did he just imagine all those? He looked at her again and then on the bed. Something shiny caught his eyes and stepped forward to pick it up. A scale. So he wasn't dreaming in fact.

He took a deep breath and placed the clothes on the bed. Trying to fight the blush off his handsome face, he motioned for the girl to change as he closed the door. Finally giving up, he decided he'd just have to do it himself. And all the while, ocean eyes observed his every move, trying to decipher this strange creature.

tbc….

**A/N: Guests pls leave a name so I know who you wonderful people are.**


	3. Chapter 3

Aoshi studied the young girl as she attentively nibbled on a large chunk of milk chocolate. It was very cute how she took really small bites of the treat into her awaiting mouth and chew it like a teething baby. In between bites, she paused to lick the melted chocolate from her fingers making it difficult for him to control his thoughts from getting somewhat erotic. _Bite, nibble, lick. Bite, nibble, lick._ She repeated the same pattern again and again and never for once Aoshi felt bored or bothered to shift his attention elsewhere. The chocolate chunk was almost finished when she looked up from the treat and at him. She rewarded Aoshi with a dazzling smile, showing off her chocolate coated , pearly white teeth. Her teeth were small and very sharp and she liked to nibble on anything that was green. It was one of the many discoveries he had made during her stay of almost two weeks with him.

These two weeks had not been easy on him. Between balancing his work, research and taking care of a mysterious girl while hiding her mermaid appearance from everyone had worn him out in two days and he'd been forced to ask for help from the only person he could trust in a situation like this. Doctor Takani Megumi – his lab partner and ex-girlfriend. In fact, the only one that he had actually liked while he dated. Things were not exactly the way they would have liked it to be, so they had decided to part ways but remained good friends ever since. It wasn't hard for him to explain things to Megumi, she was very intelligent and was often known for her foxiness. He was indebted to Megumi, since she was the one who taught the young mermaid how to use and do all the lady things which if Aoshi had to do, he was sure he would be painted a permanent shade of crimson. Despite Megumi's hearty efforts, the girl was still learning, and Aoshi often had to help her in every little thing she did and keep a very sharp eye on her. Also, it was Megumi who had pointed out that referring the girl as "she", "her" and "the girl" was becoming tiring and odd and urged him to name her. Funnily enough, the only name that sprang to his mind was "Misao". Trust, fidelity. She had so complete trust in him it almost unnerved him. It often made him feel guilty that he was using her for gathering some information. Though he didn't use her like a specimen, but it nagged him nonetheless.

Megumi was his partner in his research on Misao, the mermaid girl. They collected her blood sample, scale ,a little bit of this and that without forcing her or causing her pain. They performed the tests well after the work hours in his private lab, allotted to him for uninterrupted work atmosphere since that was the only thing he had asked of the company. Genetically, her DNA was a cross between human and aquatic beings, but there were also something that was her unique feature. Though Megumi handled the delicate information of her physical and genetic structure, Aoshi was the one who had the golden opportunity to study her behavior , eating , sleeping and moving habits and natural instincts. He sometimes recorded her movements and presence in the pool and at home and sent them to Megumi for further analysis. With the help of his observation, Aoshi had learned a great deal about Misao. Among them, the most important information was the fact that, her legs transformed into tail in contact with water and vice versa. Her lower body needed to be considerably wet to transform into a tail. It was evident that she was unable to speak or understand their language and ways of life, but she co-operated, mostly with Aoshi. She also tried to communicate though the attempts were very feeble. She didn't need to sleep when in water, but she did sleep if she was in her human form. That was another reason his sister was so convinced that indeed this girl was his girlfriend and that he had a "deep thing" for her . Aoshi chose to let her sleep in his bed while he took the couch. But he didn't need to let Kaoru know of their relative sleeping positions, since being his "crazy" girlfriend saved Misao from a lot of questions.

Being new to this life. Misao was very inquisitive and on pure animal instincts she preferred to taste everything that caught her interest. More than once, Aoshi had caught her chewing on something uneatable like his soap, her towel, the soft pillows not to mention the spoon she had been given to eat her food with. But he had to admit that Misao looked too damn adorable chewing on the inedible things and it was almost fun to take her "chew toy" away from her. The way she would tug it with her teeth and when he would finally retrieve the article from her mouth, she would try to win it over with a most convincing pout and he loved it. Even now, it was the reason he had given her the chocolate. She had been very enthusiastically nibbling on a rubber ball belonging to Kenji that Kaoru had left during her last visit. Aoshi had to tug it out of her warm, wet mouth but he didn't have the time to enjoy the feel of her soft lips on his fingers as he experienced the sharpness of her small teeth nicking himself accidentally. Finally, she had finished eating the chocolate and spread her sticky palms out to Aoshi which interpreted, "What to do with the sticky fingers?"

It was another thing Megumi taught her, to ask Aoshi for help. How she did it, was a wonder, but Misao did come to him with random objects wanting to know about their utility. It was very common for her to grab her clothes _and _his, and she held them to him with that same curious expression of hers. Apparently, she loved changing clothes every few hours, thanks to Megumi's shopping spree but what shocked Aoshi that more often she'd pick his clothes to wear than hers. And as perverse as he might sound, he did like to watch her run around the house wearing his shirts.

Though a more dormant part of Aoshi wanted to lick her fingers clean, he guided her to the sink and helped her wash her hands. He couldn't help but marvel at how he had grown accustomed to her constant presence , albeit a little difficult but definitely enjoyable. Thinking of what he must do with her or if she ever had to leave pained him, which he, of course, would never admit. Splash of cold water in his face jerked him out of his thoughts and he found her staring at him with mischievous eyes. He thought of retaliating but had to dismiss the thought at the sound of his cell phone ringing. Turning the tap off, he grabbed a napkin on his way out from the kitchen tugging Misao along with him. He received the call and held the phone between his shoulder and ear awkwardly drying her hands with his.

"Yes?"

"Hi, Aoshi." It was Megumi and it was late. Why would she call him at this hour? " Sorry to disturb you. But it was important."

"No problem." Was she fidgeting? Aoshi diverted his attention from Misao to the conversation as he motioned her to stay right there. "Megumi, What's wrong?"

"Umm, Aoshi.." She actually sounded a little nervous. And he hoped everything was alright. " Well, actually….. I …..I left her reports in the office."

Oh. Just that? He was almost relieved. Misao's reports had to be handled very carefully and stored very secretly because she was at risk of being exposed to the mad world. If anyone found out she was a mermaid, no one could save her from being a specimen for scientific research, a govt. property, a creature at the zoo. And Aoshi would never let that happen. Yet, he reassured Megumi.

"Don't worry. I'll go get them."

"Its not that." Megumi was crying. What the fuck happened?

"Megumi.." He warned. He needed to know.

"I…I.." She whispered. "I left them inside the file containing Takeda-sama's weekly report."

WHAT! It couldn't be true. Megumi wouldn't do something as stupid as that. Not when it came to Misao's security. Aoshi's jaws clenched as he accepted the news calmly and ocean eyes stared at him, wondering what was going on. She touched his face softly and he covered her hand with his, his expressing taking a harder edge.

"Aoshi? Aoshi , are you there? Aoshi, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…." She sobbed harder as Aoshi hung up on the other side. His grip on Misao's arm unconsciously tightened as he pulled her closer.

Aoshi himself had handed Takeda Kanryu the file that evening.

**TBC….**

**A.N: Oh no! Misao at risk of being exposed to the world! What kind of man is this Takeda Kanryu? A pretty blue bird told me he's a VERY BAD man….I wonder what he wants…do you?**

**To stigmafan123: OH MY GOD! Tell me its just a dream! Tell me you _did not_ review! Thank you so much!**

**To all the reviewers thank you! **


	4. Chapter 4

After an hour or so of letting Misao play with Kenshin's hair, Aoshi decided it was time for her to retire. Also, Kaoru's murderous glare was turning more dangerous by the seconds as Misao roughly handled her husband's silky locks. The moment she had laid eyes on that poor man, she had been smitten by the luscious red of his hair and had immediately latched on to it with her dainty fingers, beginning a game tug of war between her and Kaoru. After a few seconds, Aoshi had somehow persuaded Misao not to chew on it whereas Kenshin cajoled Kaoru that none but she had rights to his hair and that Misao-dono was just playing for a little while. If not for Megumi, the fight would have gone for a few years more who suggested that they should focus on Misao's safety now and nothing else. Everyone had settled down at that while Misao happily continued to tug and twist ( and occasionally tried to suck) an innocent, helpless Kenshin's hair.

It had been Megumi's decision for all of them to gather at Aoshi's place and to discuss what could be done to protect Misao, it was a part of her regret for the great mistake which might even cost the innocent mermaid's life. She had called Kenshin and explained him everything in a nutshell while on her way there and Kenshin shortly followed, along with a very pregnant and eager Kaoru, who had heard their conversation partly , well, actually, she'd only heard the part where he said, "Don't worry. I'll be right there and please, believe me, I will not let anything happen to her." It had taken Kenshin sometime to make her understand that he was not cheating and she definitely was not ugly and fat, and finally, he told her everything and thus she tagged along. Kenji was dropped at Kenshin's teacher, Hiko's place who was much like a Grandpa to him. Sano had also been informed by Megumi, who should be here at any moment.

As Aoshi pulled Misao by her arms, almost forcing her to her feet, she reluctantly let go of Kenshin's once silky now, wet, sappy and knotted hair and trailed behind Aoshi like a playful kitten. The door slammed open and the very popular head of one rooster head came into view.

"So, where's that naked chick the ice-block's hiding in his closet for who knows how long?"

Aoshi immediately pushed Misao behind him in a protective gesture whereas Megumi bonked him on the had with so much as no mercy at all.

"OUCH! What the heck was that for?"

Ocean blue eyes peeked from behind the much larger human shield, watching the lanky man rub his head with a sore expression.

"That's for being you, Rooster-head!"

"Yeah….yeah, whatever." He dismissed the nickname carelessly which was rare for him. He wouldn't have done so if he hadn't noticed the distress in his sweetheart's lovely cinnamon eyes. And the fury in the ice-block's ice chipped eyes. "No need to get violent , man. So, that's the chick? She looks human to me. What's with all that mermaid gossip?"

He stepped forward gingerly , wanting to take a closer look at the living mermaid but Aoshi extended his hand, prohibiting him to step further.

"She's no showpiece for your entertainment ,Sagara. Besides its time for her bed already."

"Time for bed?" Sano snickered. "Are you babysitting now, or what?"

"That would be Megumi's job."

Before Sano could decipher the implication behind his words, another voice jolted them from their awkward cozy atmosphere.

"Now that's very mean of you Shinomori-san."

Aoshi froze like a deer in headlight. All attention turned towards the source of the greasy voice, greeting them with an even greasier smile from the door. There stood at the door, with the same despicable shrewd face, Takeda Kanryu. God knows how long he had been there, amidst all the nerve-wrecking tension and stupid fights on trivial matters, nobody had noticed when he'd slipped in. Sano. That son of a bitch had left the door open.

Kenshin was the first to react, he was always considered as the sensible one of the group.

"Ah Takeda-san! Please come in." His ushered him inside with a fake smile. "Forgive our rudeness, we didn't see you coming."

"Never mind, Himura-san." He offered him a nasty smile. They were on very unfriendly terms, since Kenshin had almost sent him to jail during his cop days, but he had his slimy ways of getting out. "I should be sorry for imposing upon you."

Kaoru muttered something that suspiciously like, 'fat bastardly swine' under her breath whereas Megumi glanced from Kanryu to Aoshi nervously and glared daggers at Sano in between.

"Shinomori-san! My apologies for interrupting your…." He looked around and continued in his sickly mannered tone, " get together? And who might this lovely young lady be?"

Kaoru audibly gasped but Aoshi simply pushed her some more behind him before replying in the same monotone voice.

"Who she is , is of no importance to you , Takeda-sama. Megumi, please see to what brings Takeda-sama here uninvited at this hour of night. I'm taking Misao to her room."

"Misao?" He drawled . "What a lovely name! Will you not introduce me to your girlfriend, Shinomori?"

It wasn't a request but Aoshi did not care. Then again, he did not want to raise suspicion or irk Kanryu. He was a dangerous man, it was better to keep him off as long as possible. Aoshi still had his body planted before hers, and curious blue eyes peeked from behind the gaps between his arm and torso, managing to look very cute and vulnerable at the same time.

Since, Aoshi didn't answer and none of the others seem to find proper words, Kanryu addressed Misao directly.

"Hello, Misao." He stalked forward with a predatory gleam behind those fake smiling eyes. "I'm Takeda Kanryu. Pleased to meet you."

He extended a hand for her to take, but the said girl simply blinked and continued to stare curiously at the newcomer. Kanryu's eyes glinted but it was not enough to unnerve Aoshi or anyone else, save for Megumi. She had firsthand seen how cruel that man could be, and she preferred never talking about that experience. She hastily stepped forward trying to make up an excuse.

"Takeda-sama, its actually that…that, Misao-chan had been in a terrible accident not very long ago. And in that accident..….you know" She tried to act as sorry and sad as possible, " She lost her ability to speak."

"Is that so?" His voice feigned worry as he retreated his hands to his pockets, taking out a cigarette. He lit it expertly and continued after taking a long drag from the nicotine stick. "I'm very sorry to hear that. My sympathy is with you, Misao-san."

Kenshin eyed him suspiciously, his mind wheeling fast as to why Kanryu was suddenly so relaxed and comfortable. He followed the chain of smoke he released and his very pleased look, and suddenly found the source of his inner peace. Before he could react or even scream, the smoke alarm situated right above Aoshi's head blared with a horrid sound shocking the clueless mass and streams of water poured down upon the oblivious mermaid. Kenshin watched horrified, pulling Kaoru out of the way as men with guns and other equipments burst into the house whereas Aoshi was trying to shield Misao from the pouring water.

Takeda enjoyed the show with amusement as Sagara struggled with two men, trying to stop them from using the water pipes and Shinomori desperately tried to keep the girl dry. He chuckled loudly as water sprang from the pipes drenching the young girl and the handsome savior from head to toe. Kenshin helplessly watched, keeping his pregnant wife out of harms way as the youthful mermaid let out a small, shrill scream and struggled to keep her balance on her disappearing feet. More men with weapons barged in, knocking Sano out and pinning down Aoshi leaving the poor girl alone to twitch helplessly on the ground.

The intruders watched in awe as the two creamy legs disappeared and molded into a silver , shiny tail which thrashed around wildly in need of water. Helpless, the mermaid glanced around in search of Aoshi but met with a pained face etched with fury.

"Let her go!"

His voice sounded foreign to his own ears and Takeda's vile laugh filled them with burning lead.

"You sure have a one-of-a-kind girlfriend, Shinomori." He eyed the mermaid with a look used to see an animal before buying it. " Even Takani was a jewel."

Megumi's shrill scream rang throughout the house as Aoshi watched in slow motion, Misao's flaying tail collided with his china cabinet causing it to topple over, baring its door. The delicate contents hit the ground, breaking into pieces in a series of ear-splitting crashes. Kaoru sobbed into her husband's shoulder, not wanting to witness anymore as the sharp china embed themselves into the fluttering tail of the young mermaid, staining the silver shine with raw stream of fresh blood.

Not wanting to cause anymore damage to his precious 'specimen', Takeda ordered his men to drag her out and into the awaiting tank. Aoshi stood there, struggling furiously, as the men roughly pulled his petite ward out through the glass littered floor.

Not understanding any of the chaos, Misao looked back and at her familiar faces and found nothing but guilt and helplessness painted on their bounded selves. Aoshi watched helplessly as ill-mannered thugs dragged the clueless mermaid out the door . It took all his self-control not to scream her name out in a pained sob as her pouty lips parted in a broken whimper.

"Aa-o-shii?"

**A.N: I'm very bad at drama and action scenes. Please bear with me.**


End file.
